"So, you're telling me there are guys are planning on marching on in here, into my office, and taking power, maybe even blowing me away in the process, so they can have control over all of time and space, and they're on their way here right now, probably with a bunch of guns, maybe even time guns, if that's a thing. When they get here, they'll assassinate me, chuck you in a prison cell or maybe also assassinate you, and that'll be that?"

"Pffft-ha-ha-ha-ha! I have to hand it to you, Hench, that's a good one! You should write a screenplay of it, send it the way of some guys, they'll make it a movie. I know a few guys." TWEED didn't seem to be in any particular state of urgency, puffing away at his cigar while reclined in his desk chair. His deputy mayor, the unfortunately but appropriately named Ferdinand Hench, seemed to be in the exact opposite state. The young Hench had worked his way up the ranks, determined to make his city a better place, before the experiment had begun. As the previous mayor had been deemed ineffective, he had been replaced with TWEED, who had been programmed to improve things, as an agreement between the city council and Cogwick Labs. While on the surface level, all appeared well, things hadn't exactly gone as planned, and the mayor was involved in a wide array of criminal activities, which his systems had deemed would benefit things in the long run.

Most citizens were able to ignore TWEED's involvement in smuggling, space piracy, and assassination attempts on political rivals, as he kept things running smoothly otherwise. What complaints there were from the public were directed toward Hench, who was, for the most part, forced to serve as the mechanical mayor's right-hand man, however unwillingly due to his position. He had worked hard for it, after all, and couldn't simply resign, as he wasn't sure how the robot would react. "Uh, sir, this isn't a story. They're on their way here, right now, and there are people everywhere outside. We have to issue some kind of emergency statement, announcement, or something, don't we?" He stammered, wiping sweat from his brow.

TWEED's ever-present smile remained on his face, as he didn't really have a way of changing it. He'd been provided with different mouth attachments for different expressions, but had put them in a box somewhere, feeling he only really needed his self-satisfied grin. He stood from his chair. "Why, of course not, my dear Hench! Killing the mayor? They can't do that. That'd be treason! They'd go to prison for the rest of their meaningless existences! Taking over for me... Please!" He turned to face the window behind him. "Tell me something. Do you remember what a dump this place used to be before I came in? This gleaming metropolis of a city, where anyone, mechanical or otherwise, can walk freely, spend their cash at a hamburger restaurant or other such establishment, and call it their home? Do you really think I'm just going to stand idly by and let this place burn to the ground just because some other guys think they can mayor better than I can?"

He slammed his fist on his desk, cracking it slightly. "I'll out-mayor them whether they like it or not." He reached into a desk drawer, taking out his tommy gun, as well as an intercom-like device. He activated the latter, and began to speak. "Attention, citizens of our wonderful city! This is your mayor speaking, here to bring you an important announcement! Today will be our city's first annual cleaning day! Our officials will be out in the streets, cleaning up pretty much everything the whole day, to keep things nice for you! Effective immediately, you should all be indoors within the next hour. Don't make me send out the killdroids to make sure! Ah-ha-ha! But for real, get inside somewhere, because it'll be dangerous. We're taking out some serious trash today, after all!" He turned off the device, taking the gun in hand. "You know what to do, Hench. Get the killdroids ready and call in some favors from our friends, the pirates. The cool ones, though, the other guys don't really have much pizazz. We're taking out some rats!"

"But sir, I thought we were cleaning up? Aren't you mixing up your metaphors a little bit?" Hench muttered. "I knew I kept you around for something, Hench!" TWEED laughed heartily. "But seriously, go do that stuff. It isn't going to get done itself." The two exited the office, parting ways for the time being, and possibly quite a while longer depending on how things turned out.

"Having an aura of menace is like having a pet weasel, because you rarely meet someone who has one, and when you do it makes you want to hide under the coffee table." -Lemony Snicket

Credit to the fantastic GotMLK7 for the Sonia in my av and the Top Hat Squad in my sig, and the magnificent hershel_layton for the Merle in my sig!

New York, once a bustling city full of life in the form of busy streets and endless streams of people, was now reduced to a shell of its former self. Ever since the outbreak and the invasion, little was left for this city, maybe even the world itself. One could indeed have heard a pin drop in the streets of New York.

"Ha! Stand aside!"

At least, until a certain green-haired knight came along.

Yes, instead of a pin dropping to the streets, the bodies of the undead were thrown to the floor with such force you could say it was out of this world. And indeed it was, for the man in question was not of this world, yet he knew a thing or two about fighting the forces of the undead. It was strange, but Forsyth barely had time to register what had happened. His friends were nowhere to be seen and Terrors had begun to close in on him, what else was he going to do? Lay there and play dead? Ha! He knew someone who might try that, but that someone was not him!

"Is that all you've got? I barely even felt a thing!" shouted Forsyth, wielding his Steel Lance and shield while clad in heavy armor. The zombies tried in vain to attack him, but the armored knight threw them aside with a swing of his shield. The rest that were still standing fell victim to his lance, and you'd be surprised how fast this man could move. It was almost as if this was all a perfectly choreographed fight, with Forsyth gracefully felling each zombie with a swipe of his lance, but he knew he could only keep this up for so long. He focused his efforts on the larger pool of undead that was approaching him.

"The gauntlets are off!" he shouted at them, spinning his lance and generating an incredible amount of of energy. It was as if the very air around it were submitting to his will. The knight stared down the horde of undead and with a forceful thrust of his lance, unleashed a tempest of winds that sent them flying back in several directions. Satisfied, the knight stood still for a moment.

"What? You were in my way." he said with a confident smile.

-----BATTLE COMPLETE-----

At least, that's how it should've been. But Forsyth was not in his world, and the undead, though drastically lesser in number, were still making their way towards him. He'd made it a long way from the central area he had first arrived at, but now he was thinking that was a mistake. He knew nothing about this world, with towers of stone and glass literally all around him and carriages of steel littering the streets. One thing was clear, this place was not Valentia at all.

"By Mila, just where have I ended up? I must find a portal back home at once! The others could need my help!"

And thus with a renewed vigor, he charged forth.

Unbeknownst to him, he had just sent several of those undead flying off into a specific convenience store in the street...

I spent way too much time trying to make this avatar. Based on art from GotMLK7, thanks Gothald!

When Vita fell out of the portal, she only just barely avoided crashing down on the ground. As a Wolkenritter, it would have been pretty embarrassing if she would lose to... well, something like that.

Vita looked around her, slightly confused at where she was. This clearly wasn't Midchilda any more. Giving a better look around... Wait, she actually recognized this planet - it was Earth. But judging by the state of, well, everything around her... Something terribly wrong had happened. But, where she was? She had no idea what happened. Probably it'd be better for her to get off of the island.

But before she did, she checked her status - she seemed to be in pretty good state, with very little damage accumulated, but she only had twenty four cartridges on her. Normally, that would be plenty, but without any foreseeable way to get any more cartridges, she knew that she'd have to save them for a much more major situation. She decided to stay in her Knight's Clothing - since something seemed to be off about here from what she remembered from before, at least it'd offer good protection from whatever was out there. And with that, gripping onto Eisen tightly, she flew off the island towards the city.

- - -

Oh. she thought to herself.

That's what happened here...

As she flew above the city, she saw the problem. The problem, of course, being many undead beings. In fact, as far as the eye could see, she saw the destruction brought about and the slowly mindlessly moving mob of monsters meandering along the roads. But... One area caught her eye - there seemed to be a green haired man who was chopping down the zombies before him.

Bingo.

"Eisen! It's time to go!"

"Jawohl." the hammer said in a neutral robotic tone.

She swooped down towards the man, with Graf Eisen growing steadily in size, before she swung her hammer, knocking out several zombies that were around the man.

Somewhere in the wooded area of the patchwork city, there lay a serene image. There was a small clearing, perfectly silent, the area had a green glow to it, and in the center was a man meditating, completely still. Even his tail was kept in a straight line parallel to the ground, unmoving, not a single twitch.

However, Kendo Okami wasn't meditating as any sort of hobby or routine, no, he had something on his mind. By now, he was well aware of the ship that was floating above Riftopia, and at first he didn't pay it any mind. In his years here, he had never seen Esmerelda bring in any additions to the city or to the game, but whatever it was, she would likely deal with it on her own. It was out of his control and none of his concern. Then, the rumors started. The idea that, if this ship could find it's way in, then it probably knew a way out, a way that didn't involve earning 3 points in a large-scale competition. This could quite possibly mean the end of the witch's game, and there was no way of knowing how the witch herself would react, and while it was still unlikely Kendo could actually do anything about it, the fate of this city was definitely something that concerned him. The only question now was what to do about it.

Eventually, Kendo had decided he spent enough time thinking about it. He slowly stood up, then walked out of the district known as Centaur Park, and into the center of town: Limbo Plateau. He looked up at the airship that was now directly above him. First things first, he thought to himself, how do I get up there?

Yasui Yuko shook his head, being overwhelmed by a feeling of defeat and exhaustion as he approached the school grounds. It was exactly as he had heard on the news; the entire campus was devoid of students, instead populated by a number of police guards patrolling for anyone foolish enough to try and approach the danger zone, marked by a seemingly never ending string of yellow tape that circled around until it met the front once more. A portion of the school was missing, as though some conveniently placed black hole had appeared and swallowed it, leaving behind a fractured and unstable building in it’s place. He was incredibly thankful that no had been inside when it had happened; who knows what would’ve happened to them?

“Just like all the others...” He thought. Just looking from outside of the school gates, the area and shape of the damage matched that of the other buildings that had been attacked over the past few months. Yasui had been trying as best he could to keep an eye on the police’s developing case. As far as he knew, they had yet to find a connection between the locations of the attacks, aside of the face that, amazingly, there had been no casualties during any of them, nor did he have any information that led him to believe they had a suspect in their sights or a lead on what method was used to cause this kind of damage.

It was most likely that magic was the cause, of course. Of that, Yasui was almost certain. What else could cause such destruction in such a specific way? But that in and of itself told him nothing. Many people in this town secretly had some kind of special power or another, and it wasn’t like there was a recorded database he could look up to cross-check suspects and see what they were capable of. Not that that would deter him. Where there was a crime, there was evidence, and if normal humans couldn’t find it, then perhaps a not-so-normal human could…

But first, he actually had to get in there to investigate. That was a problem. He was not a police detective or a registered private investigator. He was a teenager that people consulted when they found something that they could not explain with human logic. As far as that went, he was mostly successful, considering that he had a steady stream of customers willing to pay for his services. But he highly doubted that his reputation for solving “magical crimes” would get him past the guards surrounding the remains of the school.

A problem indeed. But not an insurmountable one by any means.

Keeping out of sight from the police behind the school gates, Yasui quietly muttered a quick incantation. The back of his hand glowed a bright black color for a few seconds before fading away, and he could feel an unusual tingling feeling through the rest of his body, indicating that the spell had been successfully cast. It was a low grade casting, considering that concealment magic wasn’t his speciality. Anyone with a small amount of magical energy or sharp eyesight could probably see him, or some sort of distortion at the very least. But it would do for getting past these idiots.

With proper cover now in place, Yasui made his way towards the inside of the building, being careful not make any noise or run into anything that could cause a disturbance and alert the guards that someone was there.

He was determined to solve this case as soon as possible. If the Order caught wind of this and decided to stop by… He didn’t even want to think about what would happen to the town.

If any of the other students at Shelvington Academy today happened to run into Jennifer Frasier at some point in the day, they would be shocked by what they found. While there was a number of people who stood out, Shelvington being the kind of school that it was, the young detective was among the more famous from the collective student body, recognized not only for her field work and pretty face, but for having incredible enthusiasm and a limitless supply of energy that never seemed to fizzle out.

Today however, that image would be disturbed. Jennifer had tried to keep to herself for most of class time, but when someone who was known for being in the thick of things tried to stay quiet, people would undoubtedly notice that something was wrong. Indeed, she had a perpetually sad look on her face, didn’t seem to hear when others called out to her, and was consistently lost in thought during all the lectures that went on. It was a mild topic of conversation in the cafeteria and the hallways, but no one could seem to make out the connection.

This was in spite of the fact that the reason for Jennifer’s mood was, in fact, the biggest cause of discussion and gossip that day. Namely, the impending arrival of the Order to look for recruits.

As a detective, Jennifer was naturally affiliated with the law. She had studied it to the letter, and while it wasn’t perfect nor always correct, she was determined to generally work her cases by the book. After all, if the legal system couldn’t work, how could people believe in the law? She never went against this rule of hers… Though, there were a couple of times where she had used loopholes or loose interpretations to her favor when her sense of mortality called for it. Not everything in life was in black and white. But as said before, these were rare cases, and she’d never committed any sort of illegal act during her career.

But the Order was… Absolute, in a way that was a bit too much for her. They had total control over the country, and no one from could oppose or even challenge them. You were ether on their side, or you were the enemy. That wasn’t what she could call justice. Oh sure, it wasn’t like they routinely carried out any public acts of oppression, and history had shown that crime had deterred greatly under them, but Jennifer couldn’t help but wonder how that had come to be… She had never vocalized her thoughts to anyone however; it seemed that, much to her private dismay, many of the other students supported the Order. Why else would they be excited like this?

She hated it, absolutely despised it, but there was nothing to be done but to keep her head down and continue on with her own brand of justice. No matter what happened, she had to fight for a better future. That was the vow she’d made to…

…

… Who?

… That was odd. She couldn’t quite remember who she’d made that promise too, but it seemed like an important memory…?

Alas, she didn’t have any more time to ponder the matter further; It would soon be time for the assembly, and attendance was mandatory. After giving her room a last once over to make absolutely sure that she hadn’t taken anything important out from her ‘space,' she closed the door and set the trick lock in place, then dashed out to the courtyard.

ShadowEdgeworth is my partner in crime. GuardianDreamer-san is my bestest buddy ever just ignore that conveniently hidden knife. Ami is the ultimate and most cuddly Senpai. And Patchu is my wife. I HAVE LEGAL PROOF!

Name: Paolo PaulmanFrom: Shelvington Academy. From the 2010s, while he lives in Calipan, he is originally from Guatemala.Description: Paolo Paulman is a brown,latino and a bit androgynous guy, he's not that tall, being 173cm. He has a skinny-fit build and a soft face. He is usually a nice guy, but if you exhaust his patience he can become really aggressive.Original App:Paolo Paulman was born in extreme poverty, he and his family didn't had a roof or bed, and even sometimes food. Despite that Paolo managed to be happy, he enjoyed playing with the other kids, the dogs that lived on the streets and his younger brothers. When Paolo was 8, he meet a beautiful blond girl, the girl was being picked on by some bullies, and Paolo decided to interfere, the bullies ran away, and one dropped something, it was a lottery ticket, a winning one actually, Paolo saw the opportunity of taking out his family from the streets and took it to his parents instead of giving it back to it's owner. With the money of the ticket, Paolo's parents decided to move the family and some friends to the U.S.A, there, they oppened a restaurant of Mexican Food, that later became a multi-billionaire chain. Now Paolo's family is one of the most richest and powerful families in the world. Sadly, even with the money, things still were difficult for Paolo, thanks to the blond girl that he met on his childhood. The girl and his family also moved with Paolo's family to the U.S.A. This lead to girl, named Elise, and Paolo becoming extremely close, to the point where they developed a relationship. At the time that Elise and Paolo started dating, he was struggling with a lot, he had just come to the realization that he wasn't only interested in boys, but that he definitely wasn't a girl, this messed up Paolo a lot, but that wasn't all... 2 years have passed since that, Paolo moved recently to the capital with his family, he's still hurt by what happened two years ago, but now that he is in a new city, with new people and new surroundings, he is sure he will finally find happiness.

Spoiler : late app 2 :

Name: Gretta DanlloFrom: Japanifornia. From the 2010'sDescription: Gretta is a girl with a questionable moral, while she procures first her loved ones and secondly herself, she doesn't mind doing questionable things in order to protect the people she loves. She is optimistic, but she always thinks first of the worst scenario since life more than one time has treated her badly. She likes the stars, since they remind her of her family, specifically her mother, that was murdered when Gretta was a kid, this inspired her to become a detective. Physically, Gretta is really pretty and somewhat pettite, being 166cm, she knows really well that people find her attractive and takes advantage of it by seducing everything that moves.

Name: Paolo PaulmanFrom: Shelvington Academy. From the 2010s, while he lives in Calipan, he is originally from Guatemala.Description: Paolo Paulman is a brown,latino and a bit androgynous guy, he's not that tall, being 173cm. He has a skinny-fit build and a soft face. He is usually a nice guy, but if you exhaust his patience he can become really aggressive.Original App:Paolo Paulman was born in extreme poverty, he and his family didn't had a roof or bed, and even sometimes food. Despite that Paolo managed to be happy, he enjoyed playing with the other kids, the dogs that lived on the streets and his younger brothers. When Paolo was 8, he meet a beautiful blond girl, the girl was being picked on by some bullies, and Paolo decided to interfere, the bullies ran away, and one dropped something, it was a lottery ticket, a winning one actually, Paolo saw the opportunity of taking out his family from the streets and took it to his parents instead of giving it back to it's owner. With the money of the ticket, Paolo's parents decided to move the family and some friends to the U.S.A, there, they oppened a restaurant of Mexican Food, that later became a multi-billionaire chain. Now Paolo's family is one of the most richest and powerful families in the world. Sadly, even with the money, things still were difficult for Paolo, thanks to the blond girl that he met on his childhood. The girl and his family also moved with Paolo's family to the U.S.A. This lead to girl, named Elise, and Paolo becoming extremely close, to the point where they developed a relationship. At the time that Elise and Paolo started dating, he was struggling with a lot, he had just come to the realization that he wasn't only interested in boys, but that he definitely wasn't a girl, this messed up Paolo a lot, but that wasn't all... 2 years have passed since that, Paolo moved recently to the capital with his family, he's still hurt by what happened two years ago, but now that he is in a new city, with new people and new surroundings, he is sure he will finally find happiness.

Spoiler : late app 2 :

Name: Gretta DanlloFrom: Japanifornia. From the 2010'sDescription: Gretta is a girl with a questionable moral, while she procures first her loved ones and secondly herself, she doesn't mind doing questionable things in order to protect the people she loves. She is optimistic, but she always thinks first of the worst scenario since life more than one time has treated her badly. She likes the stars, since they remind her of her family, specifically her mother, that was murdered when Gretta was a kid, this inspired her to become a detective. Physically, Gretta is really pretty and somewhat pettite, being 166cm, she knows really well that people find her attractive and takes advantage of it by seducing everything that moves.

o H boy! more cars! dang man i sure am glad we're getting so many cars in this rp!!

"Hm. It's even bigger than I thought..." Gordeau mused as he stood at the entrance to the quite large Shelvington Academy. It was going to be hell trying to find where that ship ended up. Though when did that ever stop him? Gordeau shrugged his left shoulder, and opened the door, to find a swarm of students heading in one direction. Damn it, he was going to stick out like a sore thumb, wasn't he? Well, he had a pretty good feeling he wasn't home, anyways. He managed to slide his way into the amorphous mass of students, and overheard several words being used quite often. Order...? Recruitment...? Ceremony...?

Just what in hell was this place?

Following the crowd, Gordeau found himself in some sort of courtyard. He decided to lean against the back wall, trying his hardest to look inconspicuous, though that was kinda futile, given his gaudy purple coat, impractically large collar, or the fact that he didn't have a shirt on.

Convenience Store - 2025 - Zoie:

...

...

...

...DANGIT! Why did it always take so long for some idiot to stumble into her awesome trap!? Zoie munched on a bag of stale potato chips while still peeking out occasionally to check her surroundings, her ridiculous hairstyle making it all the harder to be sneaky. She suddenly got down again after she heard the wind suddenly kick up, and even felt it a little in her twintails. After a few moments, she peeked out again...

"...Oh, Hell!" Zoie very nearly screamed and her pupils narrowed when she saw four or five zombies walking inside the store. Her store. She scrambled for her emergency weapon hidden in the counter and pulled out a medium sized pistol. She couldn't remember where exactly she got it, but what was important was that it was there. She shakily aimed her gun at one of the zombies...

BANG.

And missed, shattering the only window left intact. The gun also kicked back more than the small girl was expecting, and she nearly dropped it. Having made quite a bit of noise just now, the shamblers turned their ugly heads toward her and started to approach. Fear in her eyes more than ever, she aimed again, slightly more prepared this time...

BANG.

...Not the one she was aiming for, but it looked like she had taken down one of its buddies? She steeled her resolve and...

BANG BANG.

BANG.

A few shots later, two more were down. Unfortunately, the two that remained were closing in on her with surprising speed. She almost had to aim her gun point-blank at the one that was closer to her at this point.

BANG.

And it was also close enough that leftover blood and bodily fluids left from when it wasn't undead had sprayed her when the bullet tore through it. Zoie tried frantically to wipe off the potentially infectious fluids from her skin onto her clothes and anything nearby, but there was one zombie still left to deal with. She aimed her gun and...

Click.

Click.

Clickclickclick.

Dangit, did she really have to run out of bullets now?! She frantically looked around, and saw her bat laying on the floor. Thinking quickly, she decided to grab it and boost herself on top of the counter. Having the high ground now, she raised the bat over her head, and brought it down on the last zombie with a sickening CRUNCH. Skull being shattered? Vertebrae snapping? Zoie didn't care. The zombie fell down, and she gave it a few more whacks just to be certain.

Slightly winded from just how hard she had bashed that last zombie, Zoie checked the store. It looked like it was just the five. It almost seemed like a fluke she made it through that little episode, but that didn't seem to register to her. Speaking of registers, she moved back behind the cashier's counter and retrieved her gun. It might've been empty, but that didn't mean it couldn't still intimidate people.

...She hoped.

For the first time in a great while, Zoie stepped foot outside her not-so-little hideout, and saw a girl with a fancy outfit (lucky little...) talking with some weird dude with green hair... Something didn't seem right here. That wind, for instance... That wasn't something that just happened. That was caused by something. Maybe one of those two weird people somehow did it. Zoie knew she was out of bullets, so she just had to rely on intimidation.

"HEY!" She shouted out, aiming her gun initially at Forsyth, and then at Vita. She ended up switching her aim between the two at steady intervals. Then she really saw how heavily equipped they seemed to be. One of them had a big lance, and the other a sizeable hammer. "O-Oh, crap... Uh! D-Don't come any closer! I'm armed!" She took a few shaky steps backward, knowing she was outclassed here, looking like she was ready to scurry at any moment.

It was a day like any other. Except it wasn't. John didn't think he'd be back on Earth after so long. Actually, he didn't think he'd be back at all. But here he was, back in the saddle again as they'd say. Heh, perhaps his time there had grown on him, but now was not the time to be sentimental. The one good thing about being in the year 7000 again was that he had far less to carry, needing only his compact multi-purpose rifle slung over his back, a revolver at his waist alongside a small grenade-sized device, and finally a dirk concealed in his boot.

He had spent a few days in this city, getting used to the surroundings, knowing his way around, all a part of his latest contract. Not an easy job, but that's why he was the best bounty hunter known several star systems over. And to top it all off, the target was the city's eponymous mayor himself, TWEED. The pile of scrap for a mayor would have you believe his city was the best city in the world, right before pulling out tommy gun from somewhere and riddling you with bullets for questioning his authority. The robot was as dirty as a politician could get, and no amount of whitewashing, puff pieces, or hype campaigns could fix that. Any citizen could tell you that if they could, but TWEED had a grasp on the city tighter than a thief's purse. Standing in front the city hall, it now fell to John to do what needed to be done.

And that was to be TWEED's damn bodyguard.

That was when the Order came, almost as if right on schedule. Then again, time-traveling empires tended to do that. John had already passed the news to one of the mayor's men beforehand. There on the borders of the city, soldiers clad in the uniform of the Big Ben Order marched in, systematically dividing themselves to cover more ground. John didn't need to activate his visor to tell that this was a hostile takeover. The city-wide intercom came to life soon afterwards, as if to greet their arrival.

"Attention, citizens of our wonderful city! This is your mayor speaking, here to bring you an important announcement! Today will be our city's first annual cleaning day! Our officials will be out in the streets, cleaning up pretty much everything the whole day, to keep things nice for you! Effective immediately, you should all be indoors within the next hour. Don't make me send out the killdroids to make sure! Ah-ha-ha! But for real, get inside somewhere, because it'll be dangerous. We're taking out some serious trash today, after all!"

"Wonderful. Cleaning duty. My favorite job in the galaxy." John said with a sigh. Just then, the mayor came out of his office, holding a tommy gun. He didn't seem to notice him.

John silently crept up from behind and spoke to the mayor without warning.

"Intending to threaten the empire with that pea shooter, Tinman?"New York Streets: 2025 - Forsyth

The knight Forsyth had seen many strange things in his life. But perhaps a girl flying without the aid of a pegasus and swinging a giant hammer was one of them. The knight was just about to charge headfirst into a horde of the undead right before a giant hammer came thisclose to sending him back into the Mother's embrace. Thankfully, that took care of the Terrors surrounding him. The red girl with the hammer addressed him, to which he responded by taking a straight stance with his right fist over his chest.

"Peace, milady! I am Sir Forsyth of Valentia's Knights of the One Kingdom!" he exclaimed rather heartily, as if the introduction itself overjoyed him. His brow quickly furrowed however, as he continued his answer. "Well to be honest milady, I do not quite know what I am doing here. However, if there are Terrors around then as a Knight of Valentia it is my duty to slay them for the peace of the realm!"

"But do tell me - "

BANG

Forsyth jumped in surprise, hearing the loud sound ring out from across the street.

"By Mila, what was that sound?" he cried in confusion as several more gunshots were fired from the nearby convenience store. He turned to look for the source of the sound, turning and looking several directions before his attention was called out once more, and by an even smaller girl no less, pointing an object Forsyth was not familiar with but surmised was meant to be a weapon judging by the girl's words.

"Ah! A small child! It gladdens me that you are unharmed by the Terrors roaming the lands, but fear not! I, Forsyth, shall see to it that you are led to safety!"

There was a good three-second pause before Forsyth scratched his head.

"Er... that is to say... Do any of you happen to know where this 'safety' is?"

I spent way too much time trying to make this avatar. Based on art from GotMLK7, thanks Gothald!

She had no idea what Valentia was, but... His whole garb and demeanour was kind of odd. So, she quickly scanned him. No signs of any magic in him. Didn't seem like his linker core had any magic in him. Plus, with the way that he was taking out the zombies... He didn't seem like he was a threat to her either.

"The name's Vita. I'm a Wolkenritter... And this here..." she said, lifting up the hammer, "... Is Eisen."

She would have continued on with this line of conversation, but suddenly, gunshots rang out.

Vita quickly turned towards the sounds, and noticed a small girl, pointing a gun towards both of them. Vita couldn't help but scoff at this.

"Do you really think something as small and puny as that can hurt me? Really? I am the Knight of the Iron Hammer, Vita. With Graf Eisen, there's nothing in the world we can't destroy. You think I'm going to be intimidated by that?"

Utter darkness - black spots slowly piecing themselves together to a sinister curtain of dark, the concealing fog slowly lifted by opening eyes. Now, what was presented in front of the man, that was something completely different.

He didn't belong here. What the hell? "Blast... did I overdo it at the pub with Lukas last night? No, wait, that was the other day. What the hell even happened?" The bowman furiously rubbed at his forehead, as if it was a magic lamp that would allow him to return his memory of what had occured to him - seemingly functional, at least, even if his head most definitely didn't have an actual magic lamp inside of it. Probably. "... Right. Some kind of... weird rift stuff. What a damn mess..." Aching a little, Python raises himself up off of the ground slowly, only now getting a good view of his surroundings, promptly standing up on his two feet once he takes note of just how trashed the place is. "For Mila's sake, this damn place is in shambles! Where the hell did I end up? This doesn't look like Zofia. Did Rigel take me prisoner or somethin'? Then again, what would they do with a lousy guy like me?"

A dry chuckle.

Python spots his bow and quiver. At least he's still armed in case something did happen to him. That's a tiny bit of relief. Well, even though he loved effortless things, this looked like plenty of work, so chop chop, gotta have to get to it. Nonchalantly, though wary, Python makes his way through the rubble and dirt of the broken institution. Maybe he'd bump into someone who could help him out... then again, who in the world would spend their time at a ruin like this?

Name: Ellis Adams (hero name: Velocity)From:Sentinel Comics RPG, Megalopolis, USA, probably around the same year as ToteDescription: Imagine the most stereotypical look of a hollywood velociraptor, with the leathery skin and slitted eyes and complete lack of feathers, now put that raptor in a white lab coat and glasses and you have Ellis.

She's originally from Insula Primalis, a small island in the arctic circle that's populated by dinosaurs due to being the only place on earth that "survived" the ice age. Ellis herself somehow became sapient after an incident involving a malfunctioned research device. Although the exact cause is a mystery, she is now essentially a velociraptor with a human brain, and a very smart brain at that.

She's currently living in Megalopolis with the scientist who discovered her (and is partially responsible for her… condition), Dr. Grant Adams. As she's learning about the world with childlike wonder, she hopes to use her new existence for good and become a superhero, like the few she's met in her past.Other: Technically, the "rp" she's from is a tabletop rpg, so I hope that still counts. And like many others, this version of her is from before the events of that rp started.

Also, for convenience's sake, all raptors have a form of non-verbal, non-visual communication where they understand each other on an empathic level. When Ellis's brain "evolved", that method evolved with it to become basically telepathy in all but name. Given her lack of human vocal chords, this is her only method of communication.

A large crowd had gathered in the Limbo Plateau, all staring upwards at this mysterious ship. The front lines were wary warriors and fighters, weapons drawn just in case, while the more timid citizens stood behind and hid in the background. Kendo arrives on the outskirts of the mob, and as he looks up, the ship begins to descend. The crowd backs away, weapons aimed at the ship, which continues to descend fearlessly. Finally, a large ramp extends from the vehicle, and the crowd waits tensely as a figure slowly starts to emerge.

The figure that emerges is not human-- It appears to be some sort of moving, gelatinous blob with no eyes but a wide toothy grin, with a uniform haphazardly pulled around its squishy form-- On one of its "sleeves" bore the insignia of a clock with twelve hands, pointing to every number on the dial. The blob was flanked on either side by a squad of soldiers bearing the same uniform and insignia, all clad in futuristic armor that clicked and ticked like the gears of a machine. After a moment, the creature flings its jelly arms wide and speaks.

"Greetings!" He says, "Allow me to introduce myself; I am Gerl Gastgort, and I am a speaker for the BBO! We come in peace! And more importantly, business! We've seen your pleasant little place here and we thought we might ask for your assistance in a matter. There is a grave danger that threatens all our worlds-- Even this one! And we need your help to stop them. Will you hear our story?"

Spoiler : Inaba, 2015 :

Yasui makes it past the police line into the school, where the gaping hole has torn through two straight floors of the building. Upon seeing the destruction firsthand, Yasui recognizes that one of the classrooms that had been torn through was his own. Desks, chairs, televisions and rubble now fill the open space where the classrooms once sat. In the main halls of the school, large scratches and tears can be seen across the floor, like the marks of some massive beast. The tracks lead out of the classrooms and towards the school Gymnasium.

Python opens the nearest door to him and walks straight into a closet, filled with sports equipment.

Spoiler : Shelvington, 2013 :

Gordeau enters the school of supernatural students, which actually is less conspicuous than you'd think, as most people just think he's a friend of Dave, The Grim Reaper, from Class B, but eventually the teachers begin to wonder if they've seen him before, but also nobody's really keen on going up to confront the very large muscular-looking fellow hanging around the back. So they ask Giant Gary to do it.

"Excuse me, sir," Gary says, looming a good head over even Gordeau, and flashing a friendly grin, "You're not on our student registry, and we don't allow visitors during the Order's test. You'd best leave now."

Meanwhile, a young man in a dog costume trots himself onstage in front of the many students, and taps the microphone. The Students recognize him as Principal Mueller, or rather the latest Principal Mueller that the Order had sent to run the school. He clears his throat and begins his speech.

"Hello, hello, students. Please take your seats. Now, today will be a very exciting day-- For about 80 years now, our beloved Shelvington Academy has been providing a home and education to you, the otherwise outcasts of our world who can here learn how to be put to good use for our society. Thanks to Shelvington, even the most strange, hideous, and dangerous youths born can be rehabilitated, and made to be powerful assets to our Order. Without this school, who's to say how many of you might have become outcasts and criminals, or worse. But now is your chance to rise up, and be recognized by the Order. Please put your hands together for our glorious Order."

As he finishes his speech and the students applaud, the Order's ship appears overhead. From it, a beam of light hits the stage, and out of it slithers a large, gooey creature of blue slime and grinning teeth. Its squishy body is wrapped in a uniform bearing the familiar logo-- The Clock with 12 hands, the universal symbol of the BBO.

As if on cue, many students cheer and raise the Gerl Gasgort lunchboxes and foam fingers.

"Ha ha yeah!" He cries, pointing to his fans with a slimy finger, "Hey kids! I used to be just like you-- A slimy, disgusting, mess of a thing with no place to go; But thanks to the Order, I'm here with you all today to show you how to make something of your life. So, without further ado, it's time for me to read out our selectees-- Those of you the Order has seen potential in and decided to offer a chance to do great things. Drum roll please!"

Principal Mueller begins hitting a snare while the students tense excitedly, waiting for the names to be called.

Spoiler : Another Shelvington, 2017 :

It's a beautiful day on the island resort Shelvington Academy. But something has woken Paolo Paulman early this morning-- A loud crash just outside his dorm room. jolting him awake; and cries of pain from nearby. Just outside the window, a student can be seen on the ground in pain, while a large, flaming crater burns not more than a few feet away. Something burns in the center, while the injured student cries for help. Though it's standard procedure to hit the Order Alarm in cases like these, Paolo's is missing today; probably his roommate or that one weird white haired girl who busted it. For now, nobody else seems to be coming.

Spoiler : Japanifornia, 2018 :

The country of Japanifornia has been at peace for a while now. With the Order in charge of most aspects of the government, the local police have less to do. The JFPD spends most of its time catching rowdies and locking them up for the Order to collect later, and what they do with them from there isn't their business. The rewards are plenty and benefits are good, so long as you follow orders and get your quota of arrests for the month. There had been uprisings, sure, but nothing the Order couldn't handle if it got too hot. Just keep the peace and do your job. It had been that way as long as anyone could remember.

Today, Gretta Danllo has been assigned to a case-- A special case, from the looks of it. One that could mean big rewards from the higher ups and maybe a promotion. The Chief asked her to the office today. And to bring donuts.

When the ship began to lower, Kendo quickly, but quietly, made his way to the front of the crowd, not actually drawing his weapon, but keeping a hand on one of his sheathed swords, just in case. When he reached the front, as the ship was touching down and opening up, he kept his hand on the hilt, but his demeanor was otherwise completely calm and expressionless. His tail standing on end was the only thing that gave him away.

Once he derived that these people weren't an immediate threat, he untensed and sat cross-legged on the ground. At the moment, he was only interested in answers, and it looked like they were about to give them to him.

"that threatens all our worlds"

That line bothered Kendo more than he thought it would. By now he thought he had given up all attachment to his homeworld, but the idea of it and the people in it, even his "family" that cast him away, being in danger left a very uneasy feeling in his gut. For now, he would hear out this amorphous man and his "BBO".

Name: Ellis Adams (hero name: Velocity)From:Sentinel Comics RPG, Megalopolis, USA, probably around the same year as ToteDescription: Imagine the most stereotypical look of a hollywood velociraptor, with the leathery skin and slitted eyes and complete lack of feathers, now put that raptor in a white lab coat and glasses and you have Ellis.

She's originally from Insula Primalis, a small island in the arctic circle that's populated by dinosaurs due to being the only place on earth that "survived" the ice age. Ellis herself somehow became sapient after an incident involving a malfunctioned research device. Although the exact cause is a mystery, she is now essentially a velociraptor with a human brain, and a very smart brain at that.

She's currently living in Megalopolis with the scientist who discovered her (and is partially responsible for her… condition), Dr. Grant Adams. As she's learning about the world with childlike wonder, she hopes to use her new existence for good and become a superhero, like the few she's met in her past.Other: Technically, the "rp" she's from is a tabletop rpg, so I hope that still counts. And like many others, this version of her is from before the events of that rp started.

Also, for convenience's sake, all raptors have a form of non-verbal, non-visual communication where they understand each other on an empathic level. When Ellis's brain "evolved", that method evolved with it to become basically telepathy in all but name. Given her lack of human vocal chords, this is her only method of communication.

wow, you apped as that car? that car's a real dinosaur! accepted old

Spoiler : Japanifornia 2018 :

The San Fran Sokyo Natural History Museum is one of the cities oldest monuments, constructed by the Order years ago to preserve the history of their world. Inside can be found relics, stories of the heroic Order's arrival, and trophies of their victory. One of the exhibits was of the many dinosaurs that once roamed the earth-- But today, one of the exhibits seemed livelier than usual. A security guard waltzes in to the Ancient World exhibit, only to find that someone has moved a raptor from its spot, and, even worse, stuck it in a lab coat and glasses! Damn hooligans!

Then he realizes that he's not looking at an exhibit.

As for the raptor, she doesn't recall how she got here, or where she is. She recalls a portal and a symbol: a clock with 12 hands. But now Ellis Adams stands in a time that is not her own, with only a bunch of raptor statues and a guard, frozen in shock, to keep her company.

Spoiler : Riftopia, ???? :

With no objections, Gerl grinned and continued. A beam of light shot out from the ship, becoming a hologram that showed a symbol: One of three gears, united by a triangle.

"Are any of you familiar with this symbol?" Nobody in the crowd seems to recognize it. Gerl nods to himself, as if he's deep in thought. "Good, good... They must have not come here yet. I imagine I don't have to sell you folks on the existence of dimensional or time travel! So let me tell you-- There are others that have this power, others that wish to use it to control and lock down all of time. They call themselves the Clockwork Guardians, and they are staging a war on all of history. My world, your world-- Every world."

Gerl takes a moment to let this sink in. The hologram changes, showing large, mechanical beasts tearing through a modern day city-- Then ripping through the pyramids of Egypt, hovering ominously over the shores of France, and mowing down an Arthurian Castle. People run in terror as the beasts attack-- Only for a squad of familiar soldiers to shoot the beasts down.

"These monsters are appearing all throughout history," Gerl said, "Destroying everything around them with no regard for human life! Our timeline is in peril and until now, we, the Order, have been the only ones opposing them. But we need your help. We are strong but the enemy is many, and we need the help of everyone to ensure the future of time! You don't have to join us... But who knows how long it'll be until the Guardians come here?"

Gerl lets that truth bomb land before speaking again. "And so! We stumbled upon this little dimension quite by accident-- But if you are here, and you can fight... Join us now, and help liberate all of time-- Forever! And if you need rewards? Well, let's just say... Time is money, and we have plenty of both."